False info on HIP pack discovered

Shiggaddi

I have recently purchased my first home. The house is in good condition, and the home buyers report also suggested this, with very little work needing doing.

However, having had the keys, and looking at all the small things you never notice when viewing, I've found that the boiler may not have been serviced since 2000. It was serviced every year from 1994-2000, whilst in ownership of the Navy, but the Navy sold the house, and the neighbouring houses in 2001.

When the surveyor visited the property, he was told that the boiler was serviced a few weeks ago, but the vendors didn't have the paperwork, which looking back on it, found strange seeing as they were in the process of selling a house.

In the HIP pack, they ticked that the boiler has recently been serviced in November 2008. When inspecting the boiler after buying, I saw the service stamps dated every year from 1994-2000, but nothing after that.

The previous people have also left me having to deal with buying electric on prepay meters, and N Power are removing the meter in a few weeks for the gas, but Scottish Power want me to wait a year "to see that I can handle my account" which I find very cheeky, since I've always paid my bills on time, and it's the previous people who had arrears (Both N Power and Scottish power confirmed that the previous people had large arrears with them)

In light of the fact that they confirmed the boiler had been serviced on the HIP pack, provided by the estate agent, and it's possible that it never took place, does anyone know my rights to redress the situation. Perhaps a letter to the previous people (I have their forwarding address) asking if they have the document to hand, or if they don't, the name of the CORGI registered tradesperson who carried it out. If it was just a slight oversight on their part, and the tradesperson serviced the boiler and forgot to stamp it, then no problem, but if they conveniently "forget" who serviced it, or provide me with the wrong tradesperson, then the information given on the HIP should be regarded as false, but not sure where I stand legally on this issue.

Doozergirl

You should have asked for the service document when you were buying.

It will cost you less to have the boiler serviced yourself than it will to employ a solicitor at 75+ an hour to sue them.

googler

From what you've said, there's no material fault with the heating system, merely that they've claimed a service visit that may not have taken place.

Does the heating system work OK at the moment? If it does, I'd suggest as per the previous poster - get it serviced yourself, and move on.

pawpurrs

Theres really nothing you can do, its really not a big deal, it may or may not have been serviced, if it was that important, you needed to have asked for this before you exchanged, its buyer beware Im afraid, it may or may not have been serviced, if thats all you found its really not that important. Even if it wasnt working you wouldnt have any comuperance as its up to you to check all these things. Although they shouldnt have lied, obviously.
Just enjoy your new home, and if its that important get it serviced.
Wishing you every happiness in your new home Shiggs.

poppysarah

Did you transfer to this electric company from your old address? If you've stayed with them then there should be NO reason for them not to take away the nasty meter.

Robert_Sterling_3

Doozergirl wrote: »

It will cost you less to have the boiler serviced yourself than it will to employ a solicitor at 75+ an hour to sue them.

My dental hygienist charges more than that.
My Solicitor, for commercial work, chargers £400 per hour + VAT

tbs624

Agree with poppysarah - if you have been a customer of Scottish Power at your previous address then they would have evidence that you are a reliable customer. If you were with another company you can provide evidence of your previous payment record with that company, ask Scottish Power to credit check you and also offer to pay your future bills by direct debit.

Be aware that those pre-payment meters may be calibrated to recover the bad debts of the previous occupants.

If you have further difficulty ask Scottish Power for its code of conduct: OFGEM require them to have details in there on how they deal with prepayment meters and requests for their removal. Insist on speaking to a team leader or manager , rather than the first call centre operator that you get when you ring.

Agree with Doozer (although she is *way* out on hourly rate) that it would be cheaper to just get the boiler serviced:you and your solicitor should have properly checked the HIP prior to exchange, and queried this then.

Shiggaddi

poppysarah wrote: »

Did you transfer to this electric company from your old address? If you've stayed with them then there should be NO reason for them not to take away the nasty meter.

I've moved out of my Mum's house, and bought my first home. Only utility I had was my own phone line, which I'm bringing over, but when I spoke to other utility companies, it takes about 8 weeks to switch over supplies to a new company, so in the meantime I'm stuck with the supply arrangements of the previous people.

Thankfully, since I notified them of my arrival, I'm not liable for their arrears, as N Power sent a new card very quickly which needed to be put in the meter before buying credit, as a stop gap until they remove the meter, and Scottish Power gave me a code to take to paypoint, then not buy any credit at that time, then take the key back to the meter to reset as a new customer, so thankfully my quick actions have meant that I'm not paying previous debt, and to make up for the inconvenience there's a small amount left on the meters which didn't get wiped when I put the new cards in. Water was easy to set up, as there's only one company to choose from, and I just gave them the meter readings, and set up DD payment with them on 1 call.

As for the rest of the house, it does seem in good order, but if someone decides to lie about the servicing of the boiler, it does make me wonder why they would do that, and whether they are covering up any more faults.

I think most people are right about the cost to persue, against the cost of the service. Had they ticked on the HIP that the boiler hadn't been serviced since they moved in, then I wouldn't be worried about persuing the matter, but ticking that it was serviced in November when it probably wasn't, is pure lies.

Also, does anyone know if I can take my business elsewhere, and upon connection of the new utilities, the new supplier removes the meter, or do I have to wait until Scottish Power take the meter away first.

Richard_Webster

What document was it in the HIP that contained this reference to the boiler being serviced in November 2008? It is possible that there were Property Information or other forms as "authorised documents" which contai9ned this information, but the normal basic HIP only has the EPC, which says nothing about the condition of the heating system only gives ratings for the type, so the first EPC I saw had a n "average" rating for a boiler that we knew did not work!

Shiggaddi

Richard_Webster wrote: »

What document was it in the HIP that contained this reference to the boiler being serviced in November 2008? It is possible that there were Property Information or other forms as "authorised documents" which contai9ned this information, but the normal basic HIP only has the EPC, which says nothing about the condition of the heating system only gives ratings for the type, so the first EPC I saw had a n "average" rating for a boiler that we knew did not work!

It was in the questionaire, which was supplied by the other side's solicitors, where they had to answer loads of questions, including who supplies the gas, electric, phone, broadband, sky/cable, and the questions on the boiler

3.1 - Is there a central heating system in the property - Yes
3.2 - What type of central heating system - Gas was ticked, not oil
3.3 - What year was it installed - Not Known
3.4 - Is the central heating system in good working order - Yes
3.5 - Has repair/maintenance been carried out during seller's ownership of property - Yes
If yes give summary DDMMYY - DD1108 Last service

googler

At the end of the day, local Trading Standards offices are the ones who are charged with upholding the Home Report legislation - so if you really want to pursue the matter, you could report the seller to them; but honestly, I think you'd be hard pushed to get them to take an interest.

There's no material fault with the boiler, as fas as I can gather.
The sellers say they had it serviced in the HR.
The only evidence you have that it hasn't been serviced is the absence of a servicing stamp in a book at the date they said it was serviced.

You don't appear to have called in your own engineer to look at the condition of the boiler or inspect it for any replacement parts or signs that it has or hasn't been serviced. I would reckon if you do call in TS, they'll expect this. So ...

It'll probably be easier just to get it serviced yourself and move on.